Pat Quilty
The growers do a lot of extra work to be able to deliver what is known as the “famous PEI potato”. We are a small part of that to help the growers get to where they need to be.
Pat Quilty
Operators Manager, Potato Quality Institute
The Potato Quality Institute is an industry-serving laboratory owned by the potato producers of PEI. We are a not-for-profit potato virus testing facility guided by a Board of Directors representing each sector of the potato industry.
We have 4-5 full-time staff and seasonally we staff up to 15 people. Our team is made up of lab staff - managers and technicians as well as a quality assurance manager, a warehouse manager, admin staff and myself, the operations manager.
We test for whatever a grower would need. We can perform the following tests at our facility: Bacterial Ring Rot, Export Virus Testing, Post Harvest Testing, Polymerase Chain Reaction, PSTV, PMTV and PVYN Testing, Nuclear Audit Testing, Summer Leaf Testing, Soil Testing
We perform both required government-regulated testing and other testing a grower may want so we not only check a box from a regulation standpoint for a grower but we can also help them with additional non-regulated testing. Ultimately, what we do at the lab helps to maintain the quality of the crop we have in PEI.
We are owned by the growers, working for the growers. We ensure that what the growers are selling is top quality. Our goal is to give the growers what they need in a timely fashion.
Most people don’t realize what our growers do to maintain the quality of the crop that we have. The growers do a lot of extra work to be able to deliver what is known as the “famous PEI potato”. We are a small part of that to help the growers get to where they need to be.
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